


How Could I Not See

by Fangodess



Series: Good Enough [3]
Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Exhaustion, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sleep Deprivation, im so sorry, mrs.potts is the castle mom, my babies love eachother, one day, one day ill write an only fluffy plot, today is not that day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-10-18 15:40:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10619973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangodess/pseuds/Fangodess
Summary: Good Enough but from Stanleys POV





	

Stanley had never been happier than he was at this point in his life. He was an apprentice to Madam Garderobe and she taught him how to apply makeup and let him dress as he wanted. She showed him how to make dresses and even made him the most beautiful dresses he had ever seen for him. He had to fight tears when he saw it. The first time he had worn it and she had helped him apply makeup that matched it, he had never felt more beautiful in his life and of course his first instinct was to show LeFou. Then he immediately was afraid LeFou would reject him for this but of course LeFou was as amazing and accepting as, he always was. He had told him he looked beautiful and let him wear the dress and makeup whenever he wanted with no judgement. He told him how stunning he looked daily. He never understood what he had done to deserve LeFou but he felt ecstatic any time he saw LeFou. So, when he hadn’t seen LeFou for a week he felt deprived of the man and when he finally got free time he decided to go find LeFou.  
He went to LeFou’s chambers and knocked on the wood frame finding the man half asleep at his desk “LeFou?” he asked.  
The minute he said his name LeFou’s head snapped up and he spun around with a stunning smile on his face, “Stanley, how are you?  
Stanley smiled, “I am good mon amour. How are you?” he asked walking closer to the man.  
“I am good. How was…” LeFou trailed off as he stood and began to sway grabbing the back of the chair as if he were about to fall.  
Stanley placed his hand on the man’s arm hoping to help him steady, “LeFou, mon cher are you ok?”  
“‘m fine” LeFou said attempting to straighten and only managing to make the fact that he was swaying more obvious.  
“No, you are not. You’re swaying, your words are all slurred, and your eyes are glazed over and aren’t focusing on anything,” Stanley said placing his hands on his shoulders to support the man. He was slowly growing more and more concerned and beginning to wonder if LeFou was drunk.  
“I assure you I am fine. I need to finish this,” he slurs. Only then does Stanley realize the piles of work surrounding the man.  
“Are you doing all of this?” Stanley asks shocked this was the amount of work he’d expect for 3 men let alone one.  
“Yeah, need to be useful,” LeFou slurs obviously becoming more delirious.  
“What?” Stanley asks confusing growing.  
LeFou began to slowly deliriously ramble Stanley only picks up small parts of it, “Not enough… Prove I’m more than the stupid sidekick… have to be useful,” he says looking at this point like he’s going to collapse. That’s when hits Stanley that he is exhausted before he can say anything LeFou says, “I really should get back to it,” takes two steps and proceeds to collapse. Stanley shrieks and lunges forward to catch the man slowly guiding him to the ground. When LeFou is safe from falling, Stanley scoops him up in his arms and proceeds to sprint out of the room almost colliding with Cogsworth.  
“Whoa Monsieur, slow down no need to… Is that LeFou? Is he ok? What happened?” he said immediately slipping into defensive and concerned stance.  
“I don’t know I walked into his chambers and he was delirious and slurring his words almost as if he were drunk. I think he was sleep deprived he was surrounded by piles of work and kept rambling about how he had to be good enough,” Stanley said panic only growing.  
“Oh lord. He kept asking if there was anything he could do so I kept giving him things to do I didn’t think he had stopped sleeping to do them,” Cogsworth gasped, “come on we will get him a doctor.”  
“I think we should put him in my chamber his are a mess. It will be easier for him to sleep in my bed,” Stanley said following Cogsworth.  
“You take him there I will go get a doctor,” Cogsworth said setting off to find a doctor. Stanley walked to his room and slid LeFou onto the bed. He was currently on top of the blanket but after the doctor looked at him he would make sure to put him under the blankets. He kneeled next to the bed and held LeFou’s hand. He immediately stood as Cogsworth and a doctor walked in.  
“I know you are very protective of him but I am going to need you to step back so I can examine him” the doctor said.  
“Come on we should probably explain to everyone else why their work can’t be done. He will need to rest after all of that so were going to need to figure out how to divide the work because I went to his room. He had the work of at least 3 overwhelmed men I have no clue how he managed to do it,” Cogsworth said leading Stanley out.  
“I don’t know either. I should have noticed how exhausted he was,” Stanley murmured.  
“Don’t blame yourself, none of us noticed,” Cogsworth said. As they walked Lumiere rounded the corner.  
“Ah, monsieur Stanley have you seen LeFou?” he asked as he rounded the corner, “ I needed his assistance with something.”  
Stanley froze he didn’t know what to say luckily before he could even begin to format a response Cogsworth said, “He has collapsed from exhaustion. He apparently has been taking on work that would overwhelm several men on for himself and worked himself to exhaustion. Anything that he is currently working on of yours I’m afraid you will have to find a way to do it yourself.”  
“I’ll do it. What is it?” Stanley said.  
“No, you won’t you are going to be a vital part of that young man’s recovery and will be taking as little work as possible,” Cogsworth said matter of factly.  
“Wait he collapsed?” Lumiere said confused.  
“Yes, he has been taking work off of other people and not letting people know it was drowning him so he hasn’t been sleeping and it caught up to him,” Stanley said.  
“I had no idea. I just assumed he would tell me if it was too much,” Lumiere gasping, “tell him that he doesn’t have to do anything, at least nothing of mine until he is fully recovered and even then, it will be minimal to non-existent,” he said bowing before going back the way he came.  
“You don’t have to come with me you should go be with him. I can tell everyone else,” Cogsworth said placing a hand on his shoulder.  
Just as he was about to thank Cogsworth and go back to him Mrs. Potts rounded the corner, “Tell everyone what?” she asked.  
Stanley again froze he knew how much LeFou saw Mrs. Potts as a mother figure and he knew she would never intentionally do this to the man. He also knew she had most likely given LeFou tasks harmlessly not knowing what it was doing to the man. He worried she would blame herself. Cogsworth must have felt the same because he neglected to say anything this time.  
“Well what is it?” she asked in her mother voice.  
Finally, Stanley knew he needed to say something, “It’s about LeFou,” he said softly.  
“Is he ok?” she asks immediately becoming concerned for the man she had grown to consider on of her own.  
“He collapsed today,” she gasped at this, “I went to go find him and when I went to his chambers they looked like a wind storm had hit and when he stood he began to sway and slur his words. I at first thought he was drunk until I noticed how much work he had surround him. He began to mumble about how he had to prove that he was good enough and then collapsed. He’s in my quarters now a doctor is looking him over,” Stanley said voice cracking slightly.  
“Oh honey,” she said wrapping her arms around him, “it will be ok dear he’s a strong one he is. Well what are we waiting for let’s go back to see him,” she said releasing him.  
“You don’t have to…” he barely gets that out before she cuts him off.  
“Nonsense I have come to see that boy as one of my own and I played a hand in this so of course I’m going to go check on him. Cogsworth I trust you can tell the others and figure out what to do with the immense amount of work I am told this boy is taking on.”  
“Of course,” Cogsworth said.  
With that she slid her arm into Stanley’s, “Come along then let’s go check on that poor boy.”  
When they got back to the room the doctor was finishing up checking him over when he was done he turned to them and said, “Nothing major is wrong with him. He is malnourished I don’t believe he was eating at all but definitely not enough if he was. He is also exhausted, I believe that is why he collapsed. He is on bed rest. Make sure he’s eating enough and he should be good.”  
“Thank you, monsieur,” Mrs. Potts says.  
As the man leaves the room she turns to Stanley and says, “Pick him up we should get him under the blanket.”  
Stanley lifts LeFou as gently as he could and once Mrs. Potts had gotten the blanket folded over he placed him back down softly covering him with the blanket. He leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, “I am sorry I didn’t see the distress you were in mon amour. I should have known.”  
“Don’t do that to yourself. You weren’t the one piling work on him. I wish I would have known,” she says softly.  
“You shouldn’t do that either. He wouldn’t want you too. He would feel horrible hearing you blamed yourself, he sees you as a mother figure,” Stanley says.  
“I know, but how did I not notice how exhausted he was. How could I just keep piling work on him?” she asked herself.  
“None of us knew he was good at hiding it,” Stanley said running his hand through his hair, “I wish he would tell me his real name. I hate calling him ‘the fool’. He doesn’t deserve that name.”  
“No, he doesn’t. why won’t he tell anyone?” she replies  
“He says it reminds him of his mother. Apparently before she passed she was the only one who called him by his real name, so when she died he was already called by that nickname so he just kept it and slowly people forgot. He isn’t from around the village so I never heard it before she died,” he says softly unable to take his eyes off the man.  
“How did she die?” Mrs. Potts asks.  
“Plague,” he says simply.  
After a while of neither of them talking she said, “I had better go find Chip make sure he’s ok. Get some sleep,” she says running a hand through his hair as she left the room.  
Stanley sighed realizing how tired he really was and then immediately feeling guilty for even thinking that when the man next to him didn’t sleep until he collapsed. None the less, he crawled into bed next to the man and draped himself protectively over the man slowly fading into sleep.  
***  
Stanley is suddenly woken as he is thrown backwards almost off the bed.  
As he begins too slowly become aware he hears a gasp from above him, “Stanley, mon amour, I am so sorry. I didn’t realize you were there. Go back to sleep I just have some stuff I have to do,” LeFou said moving to get up.  
At this Stanley shot up grabbing the man’s wrist so he was unable to leave, even in his delirious state knowing not to let the man leave, “No, LeFou they took all of your work. You don’t need to do anything.”  
All the sudden LeFou’s breathing picked up and he began to shake. Stanley sat up unsure as to what had brought this sudden panic to the man, “LeFou honey mon amour. You need to breathe its ok,” he said slowly placing his hand on LeFou’s face causing him to flinch and begin breathing faster than before. Stanley quickly withdrew his hand.  
“I’m sorry. I’ll work harder. I’ll get things done faster. I know I don’t belong or deserve to be here. I have nowhere else to go please don’t make me leave. I’ve done horrible things I know but I’ll work harder I’ll prove that I’m not as useless as I seem. I’m sorry please don’t make me leave I like it here. I thought I would be ok when you kicked me out I knew it was coming I know I deserve it but I love it here I love you. I don’t deserve you but I do I love you so much. Please don’t make me leave. I’m sorry I’ll do better,” LeFou said as he began shaking even more violently and sobbing.  
Stanley was becoming steadily more confused, “Work harder? You already worked yourself to the point of exhaustion and the doctor said he doesn’t think you were eating healthily either. No one’s making you leave. You deserve to be here as much as everyone else. You haven’t done anything wrong love. I love you too. You deserve me, if anything I don’t deserve you,” he pulled LeFou to his chest in an attempt to calm the man’s breathing, “LeFou honey you need to try to breathe with me you’re going to pass out if you don’t calm your breathing. That’s it love, in and out, slow deep breaths. It will be ok you’re not getting kicked out. You have done so much they took away you work because you were exhausted to the point of collapsing and not taking care of yourself,” slowly LeFou’s breathing had returned to normal and the shaking had stopped but he still had tears streaming down his face.  
LeFou finally looked up at Stanley, “But I blindly followed Gaston I tried to kill Maurice, Adam almost died because of me. As horrible as Gaston was I could have stopped him if I just wouldn’t have lied or if I had stopped him none of this would have happened. I should have died with him it would have been best for everyone,” he mumbled the last part so quietly that Stanley had almost not heard him say it.  
“How can you say that? If you wouldn’t have lied Gaston would have killed you or gotten you locked up. This all would have happened if you wouldn’t have lied but instead you would be in danger or dead and so would Miss Potts. No one blames you. It wouldn’t have been best for anyone if you died but especially me,” Stanley pulled back slightly placing his head on LeFou’s gently, “I love you mon cher and I don’t know what I would do without you.”  
“I just wanted to be good enough,” he said voice cracking as the tears continued to roll down his face.  
Stanley gently wiped away the tears on his face and then kissed him softly and when he pulled away he said, “You are more than enough mon amour”

**Author's Note:**

> just saying i post all of these on my tumblr where i also take prompts  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fanfictionsideaccount  
> you should go and send me prompts


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